Electrical fixture



3 Sheets-Sheet 1.

(No Model.)

L. STIERINGER.

ELEGTRIGAL FIXTURE.

Patented June 6, 1882.

N. PErERs. Phm-Luhu m hu. Washmglun. Dv C (No Model.) 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 L. STIERINGER. ELEGTR IGAL FIXTURE.

No. 259,235. Patented June 6,1882.

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(No Model.) 3 Sheets--Sheet 3. L. STIERINGER.

ELECTRICAL FIXTURE.

Patented June 6, 1882.

N. PETERS. PlvolwLilhographer, wmm m, u. c.

UNITED STATES LUTHER STIERINGER, OF NE\V YORK,

PATENT OFFICE.

n. Y., ASSIGNOR or rwortnnns To CHARLES F. HANINGTON, OF SAME PLACE, AND RICHARD N. DYER, OF

MENLO PARK, NEW JERSEY.

ELECTRICAL FIXTURE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 259,235, dated June 6, 1882.

Application filed March 15, 1852. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, LUTHER STIERINGER, of New York city, in the county and State of New York, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Electrical Fixtures, of

which the following is a specification.

The object I have in view is, first, to utilize the convenient and efficient support afforded by the gas-pipe of a house for sustaining fix- IO tures for electric lights, and to provide means for preventing the formation of a ground-counection when one conductor accidentally becomes electrically connected with some metallic part of the fixture; further, to provide an [5 electric chandelier connected with the housepipe in this manner with means whereby, without injury to any part, it can assume a true vertical position, even if the pipe to which it is attached is somewhat inclined from a vertical line, and also with means to prevent the turning of the fixture or any of the parts and the consequent cutting of the wires; and, further, to use in electric-light fixtures the forms of construction heretofore employed for gasfixtures, and to devise means wherebyfixtures of that description can be readily provided with suitable conducting-wires running through the interior of the same and hidden entirely from sight, and so that the proper connections of the 3 wires can be conveniently and cheaply made, and will also be removed from view. This part of the object of my invention extends as well to the internal wiring for electric-light purposes of the 'gasfixtures at present in use,

which may be done by the means devised by me at small expense and without affecting or changing in the least the appearance or ornamentation of the fixture.

The invention consists in the novel means 40 employed by me to accomplish the requirements of the foregoing object, as hereinafter pointed out by the claims.

The preferred constructions for carrying out my invention are shown in the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure l is an elevation and partial vertical section of a chandelier embodying the invention; Fig.2, a vertical section, on alarger scale, of the distributing and supporting body of the chandelier and the parts connected directly therewith; Fig. 3, a perspective view from beneath of the same; Fig. 4, a perspective view of the upper or ceilingjointot' the chandelier;

Fig. 5, a vertical section of the same; Fig. 6, a vertical section of the upper or ceilingjoint, w showing a modified form of the connections; Fig. 7, a vertical section of the body of a chandelier, showing a modified form of construction; and Fig. 8, an elevation and partial section of a wall-bracket embodying the first feature of my invention.

Like letters denote corresponding parts in all the figures.

A is a chandelier-stem, which is a simple pipe surrounded by a suitable ornamental covering, B, and a is the gas or other pipe projecting from the ceiling.

U is an open section or joint connecting the stem A and pipe to. This joint is composed of upper and lower rings, 1) c, which are connected by opposite arms or links, (Z (l, the rings and arms being castin one piece and preterably made malleable. The upper ring, (I, isprovided with afemale screw-thread engaging with the screw-threaded end of pipe (1.. The lowerring, 0, through which the stem A passes, has an opening larger than such stem to prevent contact between the ring and stem.

1) is a block of insulating materialsuch as vulcanized fiber-which rests upon the ring 0 between the arms at cl, and has a circular flange, e, projecting down into the opening through such ring. The stem A passes through this block, an I has a nut, f, on its upper end, which rests in a depression formed in the block. A 8 set-screw, g, is employed, which prevents the stem from turning in the nut f, while the engagement of such nut with the insulatingblocl; and of such insulating-block with the arms at (Z locks the parts at this point, so as to prevent the turning of the chandelier.

E is a washer, of insulating material, which is placed over the stem A between the ring 0 of the open joint and the ornamental covering B to complete theinsulation of the chandelier from the pipe a. It will be seen that the chandelier can assume a true vertical position, even if the pipe a is not true, without injury (';to any parts and without afi'ecting the electrical Qseparation, since the nut f will rock sufliciently for this purpose in its seat in the block D.

The electric insulation of the fixture from the supporting gas-pipe can be applied to wallbrackcts as well as to chandeliers. A way of doing this is shown in Fig. 8. F is the bracket-arm carrying the incandescing electric lamp L, and having the insulated conducting-w ires passing therethrough, and h is the gas or other pipe projecting from the wall. The pipe It has a collar, i, screwed thereon, while a smaller collar, j, is screwed upon the inner end of I A screw-cap, G, is employed to connect the parts, which screw-cap is insulated from the arm F and collarj by a cap, H, of insulating material. An insulatingwasher, I, is placed between the collars i and j to complete the insulation of the parts.

Referring again to the chandelier, 1 2 represent the conducting-wires in the ceiling, and 3 4 the main conductingwires of the chandelier, passing through the stem A and projecting out between the arms of the open joint (1. All the wires, it will be understood, are insulated. Theceiling-wires 1 2 pass down through the pipe at when such pipe is utilized for that purpose; but if the gas is still used at some points in thehouse the wiresl 2 will be brought down on the outside of the pipe at and the ring I) will be made solid on its lower side, so as to close such pipe or and prevent the escape of gas. The wires 1 2 and 3 4 have the insulation scraped from their ends, and they are then secured together electrically by twisting them together or wrapping them with fine wire, after which the connections 70 7c are preferably soldered. These connections are then wrapped or covered with suitable insulating material. Preferably only one of such connections is made, while the other two wires are connected through a safety-catch, the compact form described in an application filed by me December 27, 1881, being preferred for this purpose. It will be seen that the openjoint permits the ready connection of the chandelier and ceilingwires, and also allows the wires to be disconnected when the chandelier is in use for testing or other purposes. The openjoint, the insulating separation, and the wire connections.

are all hidden from sight by means of an ornamental shell,J which may be the canopy of the chandelierora shell above the same. This ornamental shell may be fixed stationaril y in position; or it can be made adjustable vertically to give more convenientaccess to the inclosed parts, and in the latter case will be held in position by one or more set-screws. If a closed ornamental shell is employed instead of the open shell, it will be necessary to use an insulating-ring either at its upper or lower endto preserve the electrical separation of the chandelier and gas-pipe.

The connection of the wires at the open joint 0 may be made upon the inner face of a block, K, of wood or other insulating material, Fig.

6, standing between the nut f and'ring b on one side of the arms 01 d. The wires 2 4: are

secured to the same binding screw or plate,

while the wires 1 3 are secured to separate binding screws or plates, which are connected by a safety-catch link, I. The block K is held in position by means of a screw, m, which connects it with a similar block, M, on the opposite side of the arms at (1. Instead of resting against the arms d d, the blocks K M may be made smaller, so as to set in between such arms and clamp the connections tightly between them.

To the lower end of the stem A is secured the usual supporting and distributing body, N, from which project the arms 0, carrying the electric lamps L. The stem, body, and arms porting the ornamental parts aboveit. Great difliculty has been experienced in wiring this class of chandeliers for electric-light purposes and in making the proper connections between the arm-wires and the main or stem wires of the chandelier, it being essential to retain the central support for thelower ornamental parts. For this purpose Imake a conveniently-large opening through the bottom of the body N and turn into it a pipe, through the sides of which the stein-wires 3 4 and arm-wires 5 6 can be passed, so as to enable the connections to be made outside of the same. This pipe receives a screw-plug in its lower end, which carries the rod for supporting the ornamentation. I prefer to use for this purpose a short section of pipe, P, provided with two slots, at n, extending from the lower end of the pipesection, although a form of open section or joint similar to .that used at the upper end of the chandelier-stem might be employed. The wires 3 4t and 5 6 are drawn through the opening in the body, and the slotted section I? is then screwed into such opening. The wires are properly separated, one stem-wire and half of the arm-wires (one from each arm) being bent into each of the slots n n. The wires of each bunch are connected together electrically and the joint covered with insulating material. To make these connections I prefer to leave one arm-wire in cutting 05 the wires longer than the others. After the wires are scraped this arm-wire is twisted tightly around the other wires, and the joint is then soldered, after which the in sulating-covering is put on. The open section P receives a screw plug or collar, Q, from which projects the rod It, having the finishing-knob p, which supports the ornamental shell q, inclosing and hiding from sight the slotted section and the connections. It will wires to be drawn out through the bottom of the body and permits the connections to be made readily, and also provides means for restoring the center for furnishing a support to the ornamental parts. This construction is adapted as well for crystal chandeliers and for any extentof elaboration in the ornamental parts.

In Fig. 7 is shown the slotted section P, used in a form of chandelier of special construction for electric light purposes. The body N is made larger than in the chandelier before described, and has an open bottom. The stem A is turned through the upper side of the body and receives the slotted section P, which in this case is provided with a female thread. The rod It, pendent from plug Q,has a screw-knob, p,which supports,among other ornamental parts, a shell, q, closing the lower side of the open body and hiding the connections.

The stein-wires are taken out through the slots n n and the connections made in the large body. Since only the stem-wires are passed through the slots n it in this case, one slot alone mightbe used; but I prefer to use the two slots.

The pendent rod It, connected with the slotted section P, in addition to supporting parts of the chandelier, may be employed to support any part that may be used as an electrical element of the chandelier.

The means described for getting the wires out of the body of a chandelier to makeproper connections and for restoring the center are applicable to standards, brackets, and all classes of fixtures using a distributing and supporting body for one or more arms.

It is evident that many modifications in the details of construction of the several features before described could be made without departing from the spirit of my invention.

What I claim is=- 1. Afixtureforelectriclights, supported from the piping of a house and electrically insulated therefrom, substantially as set forth.

2. The combination, with the piping of a house,-of an electric-light chandelier pendent therefrom and a connecting-joint permitting the chandelier to hang true, substantially as 5;

set forth.

3. The combination, with apipe-support, of an electrie-light chandelier provided with internal conducting-wires, a joint connecting the chandelier and pipe-support, and means for preventing the turnin of the chandelier and the consequentcuttingofthe conducting-wires, substantially as set forth.

4. The combination, with a pipe-support, of an electric-light fixture and an open joint or section connecting the pipe-support and fixture and permitting the ready connection of the conducting-wires, substantially as setforth.

5. The combination, with a pipe-support and an electric-light fixture, of the open connectingjoint or section 0, composed of rings I) c and connecting-arms d d, substantially as set forth.

6. The combination, with an internally-wired electric-1i ght fixture having an open joint at its upper or inner end and outside connections, of an ornamental shell hiding the said open jointand connections, substantially as setforth.

7. In an electric-light fixture supported from the piping, the combination of an open and insulatingjoint connecting the fixture and pipesupport, and an ornamental shell hiding said joint from sight, substantially as set forth.

8. In an electric-light fixture, the combination, with the main stem or arm and the distributing-body carrying the lamp-arms, of an open section, out through the sides of which the wires are passed from the stem or from both the stem and the body, and a central support from such open section for sustaining ornamental or other parts, substantially as described.

9. In an electric-light fixture, the combination, with the main stem or arm and the distributing-body, of the open section, outside of which the main and arm wires are connected, the central support from such open section for ornamental or other parts, and an ornamental shell hiding such connections, substantially as set forth.

10. In an electric-light fixture, the combination, with the distributing-body, of the main and arm wires passing therethrough and connected outside ofsaid body, and an ornamental shell hiding such connections, substantially as set forth.

11. In an electric-light fixture, the combination, with the main stem or arm and distributing-body, of the section P, having slots an, the screw plug or collar Q, and rod R, substantially as set forth.

This specification signed and witnessed this 10th day of March, 1882.

LUTHER STIER-INGER.

Witnesses:

WM. H. MEADOWCROFT, H. W. SEELY.

ICO 

